10 Years Since 9/11

Statement

The morning of September 11, 2001, I remember watching television with one of my daughters and she asked "why did that plane fly into the building?" It was the second plane flying into the World Trade Center and at that point we knew it was no accident. America was under attack. Nearly three thousand innocent people were killed that day. We can't afford to let it happen again.

Ten years later, we are safer but we are not safe. Today our country is less likely to see a coordinated, large-scale attack. U.S. drone strikes have decimated al Qaeda's command and control and decentralized its network, relegating their plots to 1-to-2-man operations. Strikes have eliminated several of al Qaeda's high value targets including its second in command, Atiyah al-Rahman last month.

The killing of Osama bin Laden was a major turning point in the War on Terror. We could not defeat terrorism without eliminating its face. Bin Laden was more operational than we thought. Inside his compound in Abbotabad, Pakistan, we found a treasure trove of valuable evidence including plans for a 10th anniversary attack and documents targeting oil tankers, possibly at major ports, such as the Port of Houston.

Equal to al Qaeda's desire to spill American blood is its thirst to devastate our economy. As discussed during my oversight hearing last month, an attack on the Houston Ship Channel could stop the flow of one-quarter of U.S. petroleum and one-third of our refining capacity, throwing our economy into a tailspin.

We have seen 24 terror plots in the last two years and the fact that we have prevented almost every one from being carried out is a true success story. The one we failed to stop was carried out by an American soldier against his own country, proving we are now increasingly vulnerable to the more decentralized threat of homegrown radicalization. Videos and other recruitment propaganda via the Internet, particularly by Anwar Awlaki, are rampant. Awlaki, an American-born Muslim cleric, radicalized U.S. Army Maj. Nadal Hasan before he killed 13 soldiers in a shooting rampage at Fort Hood, just outside my district.

The most noticeable security changes over the past 10 years are at our airports. We have dramatically tightened perimeters, invested in technology and intensified the scrutiny of passengers. However, the methodology has not been perfect. And the 9/11 Commission's tenth anniversary report card concludes "…we are still vulnerable to aviation security threats."

This week I am holding a field hearing at Logan International Airport in Boston, the launch pad for two of the flights involved in the 9/11 attacks. I will examine whether security improvements are adequate and whether a new layer of security, the Behavior Detection Program, which is presently being tested at Logan, is needed to make air travel more secure.

We need to continue what we are doing right by tightening areas of wasteful spending, improving personnel and technology, and by having an imagination when planning our nation's defenses. No one conceived the magnitude or nature of the 9/11 attacks. Terrorist organizations will never stop looking for holes in our defenses.

Perhaps most important, our citizens must remain vigilant. The American people are our best defense against terrorism. Gone are the days of minding your own business. If you see something suspicious, report it.

One positive that 9/11 brought about was our spirit and our ability to come together as a nation. I pray that the tenth anniversary of these tragic events will pass without incident, and that it will rekindle our sense of pride as Americans.

With Best Regards,

Michael T. McCaul
Member of Congress

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